The United States and other NATO member countries are ramping up their military activities in the Arctic, said Nikolai Korchunov, ambassador-at-large for the Arctic Cooperation
of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"The United States and other NATO members, including non-Arctic states, are continuing to intensify military activities in the region," Korchunov said during an international conference in Moscow, according to local media reports Tuesday.
Korchunov noted that the North Atlantic Alliance is increasing the scale and intensity of the military exercises that are being conducted in the region, adding that the alliance has embarked on a course "towards the militarization of the region."
Korchunov said this further demonstrates "the prevalence of confrontation and containment within the approaches of Western Arctic states," as well as their advancement of military scenarios, through which they aim to pursue their interests in the region to the detriment of others.
